‘Cebu gains from APEC’

Cebu export products, tour packages a hit among delegates

Not a few residents and visitors inconvenienced by the traffic rerouting have questioned the wisdom of Cebu’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.

It may not be visible to the public, but Cebu is making substantial gains, trade officials and local organizers said yesterday.

Regional director Asteria Caberte of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7) said Cebu’s hosting of the APEC summit generated sales and jobs for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

“Those that were more directly impacted by our hosting are the exporters who have been preparing for this event,” Caberte said during a multi-sectoral forum on APEC at the Capitol yesterday morning.

She said the Exquisitely Filipino exhibit at the SM City Cebu’s Northwing Atrium featuring top local fashion accessories and furniture has been able to sell an average of P100,000 worth of products daily since it was launched on Aug. 22.

Additional sales

Caberte said 10 local furniture exporters volunteered to furnish the APEC VIP lounge at the Mactan Cebu International Airport. Their pieces will be on display until Sept. 8, she said.

The DTI regional chief said she hopes to generate additional sales from Cebu’s hosting of the meetings.

Caberte said a delegate spends an average of US $300 excluding accommodation during their stay in Cebu.

“With 6,000 delegates … imagine the value added to the province,” Caberte said.

After the APEC meetings, the last being on Oct. 14, Caberte said DTI expects more international orders for locally made products.

Best practices

“With the massive exposure that we have had during this APEC, I am definitely sure we will have more orders,” she said.

Beyond the profit margin, however, Caberte said the local delegates learned a lot of best business practices from delegates of 21 APEC member economies.

“That’s homework to do. We need to sit down, work, go to our respective committees, and discuss how to institutionalize (what we learned) from APEC,” Caberte said.

Also in attendance at the forum were regional director Rowena Montecillo of the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DOT-7) and APEC deputy director general for media operations Lito Nadal.

Members of the academe, Cebu-based bloggers, and local media attended the forum shortly after the launching of the APEC Activity Center at the Dignitaries’ Hall.

Revenue

Montecillo said some 107 delegates availed of 49 tour packages costing P3,000 each.

She said this translated to P250,000 to P300,000 in revenues.

“Even as far as Bohol, one (delegate) felt that there was preparation there. She loved the countryside tour she was able to buy. We heard of only positive feedbacks from them,” Montecillo said.

She said the most requested tour to date is the Cebu City Tour, a three-hour tour of the Queen City of the South’s famous landmarks and museums.

Motorists and commuters in Cebu City were advised to brace for minor traffic changes today and tomorrow for this city tour joined by 50 APEC delegates.

Traffic changes

Today’s tour starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon.

Cebu City Traffic Operations (CCTO) operations chief Joy Tumulak said no roads will be closed and no jeepneys will be rerouted along the affected routes.

Tumulak said the most that will happen is that some vehicles may have to turn to a corner or two from their usual route to pave way for the convoy of the APEC delegates.

“We just ask the drivers to understand the sudden traffic changes. Same thing for the commuters, let’s just understand that this is for our visitors,” Tumulak said.

Priority

Tumulak said the tour will start at the downtown area, including the Basilica del Sto. Nino, Magellan’s Cross, Parian, and Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House.

The delegates will pass through Colon St., the oldest street in the country.

Tumulak said a minor road closure may be implemented along Mabini St. since the area is constricted.

From downtown, other affected routes include Osmeña Boulevard going to the Cebu Provincial Capitol building to JY Square and Cebu IT Park.

Tumulak said the convoy will also visit the Sugbo building at the South Road Properties (SRP) and drop by the soon-to-open SM Seaside City Complex before returning to the Radisson Blu Cebu.

Tomorrow, the ministers will join the tour that starts at 2 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

Tumulak said the convoy will join the vehicles along the affected roads, but they will just be given preference and priority especially in intersections.

Customized

Aside from the Cebu City tour, delegates also favored the “Twin City Tour” of Mactan Island and the “South Countryside Tour” which takes delegates to as far as Carcar City to sample delicacies and see its old Spanish era houses.

Other tours include island hoping, snorkeling in Mactan, and a tour around the countryside of Bohol province.

Montecillo said the APEC National Organizing Committee (NOC) approved eight or nine optional tours for the delegates.

The tour desks were also asked to customize several tours based on the preferences of delegates.

After the APEC meetings, Montecillo said the tourism sector will be kept busy with preparations for the International Eucharistic Congress in January next year.

Move forward

Caberte said DTI is working to make sure that the MSMEs are able to deliver and “sustain the momentum” earned from the APEC meetings.

Montecillo said the standards in services and programs implemented by hotels and resorts before and during the event will be sustained long after APEC ends.

“It is not because APEC is here that we should be busy inspecting hotels and resorts, that we make sure we have good food and our facilities are clean. We hope that this will continue,” she said.

Nadal, for his part, said APEC elevated the standards in products and services offered to visitors and guests to Cebu.

“Among ourselves, we level up in the standards. We move on with our insights from APEC. We don’t go down, we move forward,” he said.

TAGS: APEC, Cebu, tourism